We all know we currently live beyond the carrying capacity of the planet. In 2050, about 9 billion
people will live on this planet ? how can we ensure at least basic, decent livelihoods for all with more
equity and social justice while climatic changes will have taken effect, scarcity will have led to
significant price increases in water, food mineral oil, natural gas, and many materials? ICLEI?s vision
is not to merely look at the status quo and make incremental improvements to it, but rather to consider
the systemic changes we need to make now in order to ensure sustained human life on earth. That is
the crucial context of ICLEI?s input towards, at and beyond Rio+20.

In ICLEI?s view, the world does not need another declaration. If Rio+20 is to be a worthwhile
multilateral conference justifying the enormous financial and human resources invested in it, Heads of
States and Governments have to be personally involved in jointly deciding upon and presenting
concrete actions.

1. Context: cities and urbanization

1.1 The challenge and potential of urbanization

The increasing speed and scale of Urbanization have turned this trend into an emerging global issue.
While in 1950 less than one-third of the world's population lived in cities, by 2050 over two-thirds of
the world population will be living in urban areas. In the next 40 years we have to build the same
urban capacity which we have built in the past 4000 years. Building quality urban fabrics that provide
livelihoods and opportunities for people of all economic backgrounds, so rapidly and at such
enormous scale, is the defining challenge humanity faces. The standards along which these urban
structures will be designed will decide whether their future inhabitants will be locked into the current
life-styles of resource-intensity and dependency on fossil fuels, or if they will become the models for
future urban fabrics based on carbon neutrality, minimal use of natural resources, closed economic
cycles and social inclusion.

ICLEI calls for a UN Decade of Sustainable Urbanization to raise awareness, create synergies and to
share solutions and good practices.

ICLEI helps its 1200 members in 73 countries to work towards eight goals: to implement integrated
sustainability polices, to increase resource-efficiency, to become bio-diverse cities, to move towards
climate neutrality, to create a resilient community, to green the infrastructure, to transition to a green
urban economy and to establish a healthy and happy community. If the cities of the world reached
these aims, most global environmental targets would be reached.

Yet in the long term, we have to go even further. Considering the widening gap between the resource
demands of growing populations and economies, on the one hand, and declining natural resource base
and carrying capacity, on the other hand, there would appear to be only one real solution. Our cities
need to themselves be designed and managed to produce more and more of their own resource inputs.

We need to redesign existing urban areas and systems, we need to build new ones that generate
substantial amounts of their own resources within the urban region, in particular their energy, food,
and even water. Put in economic terms, cities need to be even more productive engines of economic
growth by ?growing? a substantial part of their own resource base.

This investment in the resource productivity of cities and urban systems, which until now have
been extractive, resource consuming systems, is the central opportunity and challenge of the green
urban economy.

1.3 Cities: hubs of green growth

Economic growth in both developed and developing countries has been and will be concentrated in
their cities. It is estimated that between 2005 and 2025 some 200 trillion dollars will be spent globally
on fixed urban assets. Most of this expenditure will occur in developing countries, but often involving
the engineering, infrastructure, architectural, technology, and construction companies of developed
nations. McKinsey & Co estimates that 46 trillion dollars will be spent on fixed urban assets in China
alone during the 2005 to 2025 period.

ICLEI sees in the channeling of this expenditure towards more sustainable urban designs, systems and
materials a tremendous ?green growth? opportunity. Incentives should direct growth towards
resource-productive, resilient, low-carbon and low-risk urban infrastructure. Local Governments need
the powers as well as supportive national and global regulatory frameworks to channel this
expenditure towards creating sustainable urban systems ? to set the standards for all human
settlements.

ICLEI?s white paper ?Financing the Resilient City? of June 2011 argues that finance for resilience and
adaptation need to be demand-driven, rather than having conventional top-down global financing
mechanisms determining in a top-down fashion which local actions are eligible for funding. This
demand-driven model of urban adaptation financing may be a pilot case of demand-driven finance in
other areas.

The concentration of economic growth in cities and the relevance of the performance of urban systems
to global sustainability may be regarded as common ground between developing and developed
countries.

2. Green eeconomy in the context of sustainable
development and poverty eradication

2.1 Beyond the ?3 pillars?: economy must serve the people and the planet

The common conceptualization of sustainable development as having three pillars ? social, economic
and environmental ? is misleading. While there is an interconnection between the three spheres, ICLEI
doubts that they can be seen as equal and the concept of ?harmony? between them is solid. Why
should humans and their societies, and why should the environment be brought in harmony with the
economy?

ICLEI sees the economy as a servicing system, not as an end in itself. The economy is dependent
upon productive and functioning natural resources and ecosystem services, which it processes into
products and services for people. It is thus the mechanism between nature and humans. It must ideally
use as little natural resources as possible to enable as many people as possible to live well. With an
increasing global population and finite natural resources, this is essential in order to secure decent
livelihoods for all human beings now and in future. The way the economy works ? whether wasteful
or efficient, whether polluting or clean, whether exploitative or just ? determines the extent of
sustainability of our civilization.

2.2 The need for Sustainable Development Goals

ICLEI supports that one central outcome of Rio+20 should be Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs), the framework and goal set for action until 2050:

· SDGs must ensure that in 2050 all 9 billion people will be able to live within the planetary
boundaries with decent living conditions. Continuing with a business-as-usual approach will
lead to a dearth of natural resources and the possibility of conflict over scarce remaining
natural resources. This threat must be addressed decisively and immediately.

· SDGs should be based on scientific evidence and expertise, particularly regarding current
assessments and projections for 2050 under business-as-usual and other models, as well as
analyzing which actions now would lead to which revision of trends.

· SDGs should be quantifiable, measurable, reportable and verifiable.

· SDGs must address urbanization and its impacts on sustainable development of all societies
on this planet. Urbanization trends are interlinked with most of current key challenges such as
poverty and resource scarcity exacerbated by climate change, biodiversity loss and
globalization.

· SDGs must include clear targets for global sustainable development standards to be met
jointly by all actors. It should also set up a centralized registry of commitments that keeps
track of which country or institution has agreed to do what, and the extent to which that
commitment has been fulfilled.

· Local Governments and Local Government Organizations (LGOs) such as ICLEI will be
crucial for successful implementation of SDGs and should be included in relevant global
decisions on the definition of SDGs. Discussions on SDGs and governance should be
ICLEI submission for Rio+20 Compilation Document for Zero Draft ? 31 October 2011 4
interlinked, since good sustainable development governance at global, national and local level
will be crucial for the successful implementation of the SDGs.

· SDGs should be clearly linked to and seen in conjunction with the Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs).

2.3 Towards a green and sustainable economy: beyond GDP

When considering the green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty
eradication, it is not a question of environmental protection or economic growth, but rather a
structurally and qualitatively different type of economic growth which values the finite natural
resources the economy relies upon. This is the idea behind green economy in the context of
sustainable development and poverty eradication. After the financial and economic crises the world
has undergone in the past years, we must once more realize that the current global economic model is
unsustainable.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the most widely used metric of the economic performance of a
country. However, it is now widely recognized that GDP is an inadequate measure of social progress:
measuring efforts and not results, focusing only on quantity of expenditure and not quality, masking
inequalities, and disregarding the value of natural capital.

Developing a more comprehensive indicator would allow for more nuanced performance
measurement. The Human Development Index (HDI) and other alternatives have existed for a long
time. More recently Bhutan?s Gross National Happiness Index and the OECD?s Better Life Index
among others have also gained some recognition. ICLEI welcomes and supports the recent efforts
made to seek more nuanced measurement of performance and considers it possible to move to a better
indicator of national well-being than GDP.

ICLEI expects the Rio+20 Conference to take a decision to generally introduce a new performance
measurement framework for countries and their economies.

ICLEI demands that such improved indicator(s) should allow for being translated into locally used
indicators as part of a coherent global monitoring and evaluation framework for globally and
nationally agreed targets.

As part of the transition to a green economy, ICLEI requests that existing ideas such as the
internalization of costs and the ?polluter pays? principle must finally be fully implemented. In addition,
ICLEI proposes the introduction of a new principle, the ?beneficiary pays? principle, for the sake of
inter-generational justice: those actors of the current generation who use and benefit from the use of
resources or natural capital have to bear the full costs. In the energy sector, for example, energy prices
from diverse sources would be extremely different under the ?beneficiary pays? principle. Since the
current use of fossil fuel both depletes finite resources and pollutes the planet for future generations, a
fairer price for the long-term effects of that which benefits us today should be levied.

2.4 Green urban economies for a global green economy

The largest 100 urban areas alone are estimated to have contributed about 30% to the global GDP in
2005. Due to the geographical concentration of people, infrastructure, knowledge, economic activity
and resources, cities are able to achieve 'more with less' - or, in other words, to turn density and urban
systems into eco-efficiency. Local governments are already working in multiple areas which form part
of the green urban economy, such as sustainable procurement, green buildings and infrastructure,
improving waste management, access to sanitation et cetera.

ICLEI sees greening the ?urban? economies as an essential part of the global transition to a
green economy.

LGOs such as ICLEI can draw upon the vast implementation capacity of cities around the world,
thus tapping into a large potential for green economy transitions. A green urban economy realizes
opportunities to enhance human well-being and local natural resources, while reducing future costs,
ecological scarcities and environmental risks. Developing green urban economies will have direct
positive local effects such as an enhanced well-being of the local population, keeping more resources
in a local economic cycle, a prevention of future scarcities in natural resources and energy, and
reduced future costs for maintaining urban infrastructure and social services, and reduced
consequential costs to future generations for dealing with impacts of today?s economy. ICLEI as the
largest global network of local governments working towards sustainability commits to a focus in its
work with its local government members around the world to green their urban economies, piloting
best practices that may be followed by others.

2.5 A Green Economy Roadmap is one option

A Green Economy Roadmap has been proposed by the European Commission. It seeks to map out
the "what, how and who" of a transition to a green economy, proposing specific actions that could be
implemented at the international, national and regional levels. More precisely, it envisions (1)
investing in key resources and natural capital ("what"), (2) combining market and regulatory
instruments ("how") and (3) improving governance and encouraging private sector involvement
("who").

Such a Roadmap is one of the options that may support a global transition to a green economy. It
should explicitly include and support greening urban economies. It would have to be supported by
countries of different economic development and take account of their different circumstances. ICLEI
fully agrees with the need to invest in key resources and natural capital as a basis for future economic
activity and human well-being. ICLEI realizes that economic and financial mechanisms must be used
to address these challenges.

ICLEI demands the full inclusion of relevant actors such as local and regional government, business
and civil society in such a roadmap.

3. Institutional Framework for Sustainable Development

Over the past decades the world has realized that social, environmental and economic issues transcend
political borders. Since the UN Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm in 1972, a huge
number of global bodies have been created dealing with issues that form part of sustainable
development. Despite these efforts, the world recently experienced major financial crises and is
witnessing a continuing loss of biodiversity, escalating climate change, widespread resource depletion,
and other challenges, which the current institutional framework seems unable to adequately
address.

Numerous trends and indicators show that the planet and its human beings are facing severe threats to
their livelihoods and survival in the present or near future.

At the beginning of the 21st century, we must realize that our current global institutional set-up has
failed to set the world and global society on a sustainable path. The time has come for significant
revision of the global institutional framework for sustainable development.

3.1 Involving all relevant actors in decision-shaping and implementation

ICLEI submission for Rio+20 Compilation Document for Zero Draft ? 31 October 2011 6
Based on Agenda 21, relevant UN bodies such as the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs
(DESA), the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the UN Convention on

Biological Diversity (UN CBD), the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and the UN
Environment Programme (UNEP) recognize the so-called ?Nine Major Groups?: Business and
Industry, Children and Youth, Farmers, Indigenous Peoples, Local Authorities, NGOs, Scientific and
Technological Community, Women as well as Workers and Trade Unions. Since Agenda 21 was
adopted in 1992, the involvement of Major Groups has enriched the debates at the UN and brought
relevant voices to the table. Yet the current structure has clear limitations. The current nine groups
are very different in their identity, roles and powers, yet they are equal in the UN system.

ICLEI believes that Rio+20 provides an exceptional opportunity to enhance the current Major Group
structure. Criteria such as the stakeholders? mandate and capacity to contribute to the implementation
of multilateral agreements, to organize commitments to action by their constituencies, to establish
performance monitoring systems and to provide regular global reports, i.e. their ability to submit
themselves to a accountability framework, need to be taken into consideration.

ICLEI as a Local Government Organization and as such part of the proposed Governmental
Stakeholder Group focuses on that group.

ICLEI proposes that local and regional governments as recognized ?governmental stakeholders? in
the UNFCCC process should be given responsibility and be involved in decision-shaping that
concerns in particular sustainable development and greening our economies. Local governments and

LGOs play a crucial role in the implementation of multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs).
ICLEI is currently developing precise suggestions for models of enhanced governmental stakeholders?
participation in policy-shaping and implementation, to be publicly proposed ahead of Rio+20.

At a time when there appears to be general consensus that the ability of the United Nations as an
international organization of the sovereign states of the world to bring about binding frameworks to
safeguard global environmental assets such as climate stability within the necessary timeframe, an
institutional framework should be created that involves ?relevant actors? besides nation states and
integrates them into a system of commitments, actions, performance monitoring and reporting.

ICLEI believes that if the UN wants to fully live up to the spirit of its Charter, not only to ?maintain
international peace and security? (Article 1.1), but also to ?achieve international co-operation in
solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian character? (Article
1.3), it needs to move ? in its functionality ? beyond the definition of ?United Nations? and to
becoming the ?United Actors?.

3.2 A need for integration and coherence ? Sustainable Development Council?

As outlined above, we need to move beyond thinking in terms of three pillars of sustainable
development. This has clear implications for the institutional framework for sustainable development
(IFSD). The economic, social and environmental spheres cannot be separated into pillars which stand
on their own. There is a clear need for a coherent, integrated IFSD which recognizes the economy?s
absolute dependency on ecosystem services, and society?s primary role in using, crafting and shaping
the global economy to create meaningful and low-impact quality of life for all.

ICLEI believes that the creation of a UN Council on Sustainable Development is a worthwhile
option to be considered. Such a Council could serve to increase coherence and coordination among the
different global organizations working on sustainable development and it could be the forum for
dialogue among countries, governmental stakeholders, business and civil society regarding sustainable
development. ICLEI will remain engaged in the process of designing such Council.

3.3 The need for a UN or World Environment Organization

ICLEI supports the need for a single organization which works on all environmental issues in a
comprehensive and coherent manner, which could be a UN Environment Organization (UNEO) or
a World Environment Organization (WEO).

Integration and coherence in the environmental sphere will be one step towards integration and
coherence in sustainable development governance. ICLEI believes that UNEO/WEO as the one
organization dealing with all aspects of environment and taking care of the finite natural resource base
at the global level will be better placed to relate to and discuss important issues with those
organizations regulating the global economy and aiming to ensure social well-being. This organization
should have universal membership to ensure the highest possible legitimacy and authority. Such an
organization would also be helpful for Local Governments and global LGOs in order to link global
and local environmental policy and implementation. ICLEI supports the idea to upgrade UNEP into a
UNEO or WEO.

3.4 New Intergovernmental Panel on Sustainable Development

The United Nations, UN Member States and all other relevant actors need to be clear about where key
global developments (such as global warming, water availability, soil degradation, desertification,
food production, etc.) must stand in the years 2020, 2030, 2040 and 2050 in order for human
civilization on the planet to be on a sustainable path. This is the function of the Sustainable
Development Goals (section 2.2 above), which need to be quantitative, measurable, reportable and
verifiable. The definition of these goals must be based on scientific evidence and expertise as
postulated in section 2.2.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has been in operation since 1988 and the
Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) was
recently created. Each Panel forms the interface between science and policy for their area of focus.
Sound political decisions on sustainable development issues require a solid scientific base, making
these two Panels highly important and useful. Yet ICLEI believes that one has to be careful to avoid
fragmentation in the institutional framework.

To this end, ICLEI proposes to create an Intergovernmental Panel on Sustainable Development
(IPSD). This Panel would inform the most important global political decisions for the long-term
future.

This Panel would be the overarching body for IPCC, IPBES and any other relevant science/policy
bodies. Details of the IPSD would have to be worked out after Rio+20.

3.5 Sustainable development governance and the local level

While the above-mentioned changes in the institutional framework for sustainable development have
been proposed in order to improve the horizontal integration, vertical integration within a multi-level
governance system needs to be improved as well.

Local governments are considered the closest and most responsive level of government to the needs of
their citizens, electorate and local interest groups. How sustainable development governance works at
the local level varies widely. An analysis of the progress and variety of sustainable development
governance and action at the local level is currently being carried out for the Local Sustainability
2012 global study. The study will critically evaluate 20 years of Local Agenda 21 and other
sustainable development initiatives. The results of the study will be published in early 2012 and will
be fed into the Rio+20 process.

Regardless of how the administrative structure for sustainable development is set up, local
governments are crucially important to steer sustainable urban development. They provide urban
services (water, waste, sanitation, public Transport, fire and police, administration, education et cetera),
regulate building codes and land-use, respond to public pressures, and leverage, align and allocate
large amounts of investments. Their influence is immense: to direct sustainable urban development by
utilizing renewable energy, adapting to climate change and building resilience, reducing greenhouse
gas emissions and local pollution, reducing consumption and using resources more efficiently,
amongst others.

The past two decades have seen a strong decentralization of public tasks from the national level to the
local level, mostly without equipping local governments with sufficient power and resources needed to
implement these tasks. ICLEI demands that in order for local governments to take on the
responsibilities and tasks outlined above, adequate financial resources have to be provided and
supportive fiscal and legal national framework conditions have to be established.

Endowed with appropriate capacity, local governments will be the strongest allies of national
governments and the United Nations in creating conditions for a sustainable human civilization on
Earth.